Getting Proximity Alerts When driving Offroad ??

I think I understand what you are attempting to do. You have a list of coordinates but they are places to NOT go so you want to avoid them.

You state you have created a CSV file with the points and now you want to know when you are near them. This requires a little understanding on how the alerts work in the Nuvi line.

The most common is the "along the route" alert you get when your vehicle is pointed at the point and it will be within about 20 meters of your current travel direction. This is probably what you don't want.

The other alert is a TourGuide alert which operates as a circle with a radius equal to the alert distance. This sounds more like what you are attempting to do. Have an alert when you are near but not necessarily approaching the point. TourGuide alerts are created when you add the key word TourGuide to both the name and a sound file. This means you need a sound file and an additional piece of software, SOX.

TourGuide alerts MUST have an associated sound file or else they don't work. There are a lot of sound files available on POI-Factory which are user created so they will work with your unit. The other piece of software needed is SOX.exe and it has to be an old version. The SOX file is also available on POI-Factory. Look in the FAQs and Tutorials on loading and creating POI files.

This FAQ covers a lot of information on TourGuide that you may want to review. http://www.poi-factory.com/node/13958 .Disregard the mp3 info.Your unit requires sox.exe and wav file to get a voice alert as Boxcar stated.

Sounds like an interesting task you're trying to achieve?

What the OP is trying to do is to stay away from certain spots I believe. Say for example an area of Quicksand or whatever point of danger.

Using lat\lon and making them waypoints, would you then be able to use them the same way we would to alert for a McDonalds for example.
The only difference I see is that the OP wants an alert to STAY AWAY from whereas we want the alert so we can go there.

Maybe my thinking is wrong, maybe not.

No your thinking is precisely what I like to do with these WP.
I tried several things already from the web and from the POI loader help file But they all lacked the result.

So what you say is that I need a wav file if i'm correct.

This afternoon I read some quotes on the tourguide attributes and I tried this using an mp3 file. But this won't work. True.

What does the Sox software exactly do if I only need a csv and a vaw?

Do I need to use the SOX instead of the POI loader?

Oh sorry I should have replied to you instead of writing a comment

Please see my comment.

Your 2597 cannot play MP3 files so you need .wav files to get alerts. You need both POILoader and .sox to load POI's with alerts.

See this link for instructions and proper files to download.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25730

Yes, your nuvi devices can only use wav audio files, and as said before, when using TourGuide POIs an added audio file is required for the POI to work. Standard POI files can use but do not require an audio file while TourGuide POI files must have an audio file.

Sox.exe is required when using POI Loader on a PC. (Sox.exe isn't needed when using a Mac.) Sox is needed to embed the wav file into the .gpi file created by POI Loader and the gpi file is what's used in the nuvi for custom POIs. Also as noted earlier the sox.exe version must be the old 14.0.1. Newer sox versions do not work with POI Loader. If you download the sox.exe from the faqs on this site, you will have the correct version.

I'm glad you're able to visualize your POIs, whether the standard dot or a custom icon. With a 100m alert distance, when an audio alert occurs telling you that you're within 100m of a POI, you should be able to see it on the nuvi and know how to turn to avoid it. Using a larger alert distance outside of the range of your nuvi display would put you in a nerve-racking situation of hearing the alert but not knowing which way to turn away from it.

Your nuvi 2597 does have the ability to set Custom Avoidances. See page 6 of owners manual:

http://static.garmin.com/pumac/nuvi_24x7_OM_EN.pdf

A custom avoidance probably isn't of use in your current situation but if you're driving along roadways and have a road or a general area to always be avoided along a route, it could come in handy.

Have you actually set up the files in a format that POI Loader will install them to your GPS? Like http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25752 or http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25743 .You can get by with just the Longitude and the Latitude to load using POI Loader. Also look at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25721for setting up the custom pois. Putting TourGuide in the file name will allow you to set a radius alert instead of the along the route alert.That will best fit what you are trying to do and avoid getting in the area you want to saty out of..

When you use POI Loader you file should be something like this to load to the gps.

My Pois
TourGuide anomalies.csv
TourGuide anomalies.wav

The csv file will contain the 622 locations.Longitude and Latitude.

Welcome to the site.

I am going to try to recap:

1. You have a .csv file with 622 points that you want to AVOID.
2. You want to have an audio alert when you are approaching one of these points
3. Your POIs show up on your 2597LMT device which means that you have successfully downloaded POI Loader from Garmin and have run POI Loader to create a .gpi file on the 2597 (perhaps with an "Icon" - which would be a .bmp file if used)

What you need to do now is to download sox.exe
http://www.poi-factory.com/images/csv/sox-14-0-1.zip

After downloading sox.zip, unzip the file and copy sox.exe into the folder that contains POI Loader. Usually this folder is
C:\Program Files (x86)\Garmin\POI Loader

Now, just so that any number of people here at the factory can pick up and advise you further, create a folder on your C: drive and call it POIAvoid.

Into this folder, copy the .csv file that you have already used to get the points you are able to visualize on the 2597.

Rename this .csv file to "AvoidTourGuide.csv" (without the quotes). Note that the character string "TourGuide" must have a capital "T" and a capital "G".

Download a sound file - I suggest the one at
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/43372

Right click on the file when you get to the page containing it; select the "Save link as.." and when the "save" dialog appears, navigate to C:\POIAvoid and save the file there.

Note that, as named, the "1923 Model T Ford Aaoogha horn.wav" will not provide an alert for you because its name is not the same on the left hand side of the period as your POI file. So, you must rename this .wav file to read "AvoidTourGuide.wav" (without the quotes).

Now, attach the 2597 to your computer.
Run POI Loader and let it find your 2597.
Click Next
Click Install new custom POIs onto your device
Click Next
Browse to get to C:\POIAvoid
Let POI Loader use the custom file name of POIAvoid.
Units will be "Meters and KPH"
Choose "Manual" mode
Click Next
Check "This file contains proximity alerts points"
Check "Alert when you get close to a point"
Enter 100 in "Alert at this distance"
Click Next

Assuming you are able to drive to one of the point, let us know what happens

Thanks for all the Help guys! indeed now running SOX it alarms me when i reach the vicinity. I downloaded a grievous horn so my local Kazach/Russian drivers will wake up

Now I will try to tune the device even further with the Avoidance Areas!

Secondly, is there some option that it will show all my POI(Anomalies) always. Now i need to select them from the favorite menu.

tnx

I emailed you an icon for use. The Nuvi will automatically display the icon for every location on the screen.

I think part of your question is how to make these 622 Anomalies part of your Saved/Favorites. And, I guess you might want to do this because it would reduce the number of "touches" required to get to one.

If this is the case, then I would suggest turning the .csv file into a .gpx file and then copying this new, say, "anomolies.gpx" file into the GPX folder of your device (you will find that current.gpx is already there).

What this would let you do is to follow the sequence Where To? > Saved > All Saved Places and see the 50 Saved Places closest to the device - that is, those places closest to the device in any direction "as the crow flies". Note that , on the device, you will never be able to "all my POI(Anomalies) always". Whether you use "Saved" or "Custom POIs", the device will only show the closest 50.

If by "show", you mean see Icons on the "Map" of the device, you have to be zoomed in very close to see any several of them which means that you could not see all of them.

Did I understand correctly what you were asking?

You will not be able to see all the anomalies at one time. It doesn't matter if you use saved places or custom pois. Only the closest 50 from the current location will show.

If you select Where To Custom Pois and All Categories Or single category. It will show the closest 50 near your current location.

Another feature available on your unit that may meet your needs.
Select a route and touch start . Then go back to Where To and touch it.At top right of gps screen you will see Searching near.Touch it.Now select My Active Route then Custom Pois,then Anomalies file or All Categories.Your selection will appear along the route.

Searching near option gives several selections that you may want to explore.

Tnx Charlesd45,

I think with the TourGuide working I've already gain the necessary feature. But as you all know, just when you get the hang of things you desire more. So I'm in the field and know I select my predefined route.
The Garmin will so me an open field. Now as I start driving there will popup all these Anomalies as I drive through the field giving me a pre-warning and a WAKE UP call if i get to close.

In can imagine quicksand areas which must be avoided at all costs. That's where i would like to use the restricted areas. The other thing I was wondering about is that the openfield gives me a feeling of comfort while in fact I'm driving through a sort of minefield with 622 Anomalies.

And yes Charles hitting the MAP and select all my Custom POI's to popup as Anomalies would have been great. If only It would keep on tracking my current position in the middle. However in simulation I'm driving out of the screen and i have to swipe the screen manually. This is what is tricky. Driving the vehicle I'm going to use.

What you said

"Another feature available on your unit that may meet your needs.
Select a route and touch start . Then go back to Where To and touch it.At top right of gps screen you will see Searching near.Touch it.Now select My Active Route then Custom Pois,then Anomalies file or All Categories.Your selection will appear along the route."

doesn't seem to work.

So I hope anyone has come up with a smart work around idea

Dear Jgermann,

Exporting the Anomalies into a .gpx file solved my puzzle.
Only how do I know change the lovely favorite symbol into a blue dot?
this nice favorite is some what of a overkill if you know what i mean.

(The drivers will in the dessert for many-many weeks!)

You should be able to avoid the "driving off the screen" / screen swipe if you change your device from 3D mode to north up or track up.

I have used the Tourguide alert to behavior in a similar matter, with mixed success.

I have the same GPS that you do. I use the feature My Active Route all the time when Traveling.Not sure why is will not do the same for you.

Hi alandb,

I'm sorry but since I'm have set North up to keep track of Direction

maybe it due to the simulation which I'm using.

I guess I don't understand. If you have it set to North up and operate it in navigation mode, your vehicle icon shouldn't "drive off the screen" Instead, the map should move as you travel and keep the vehicle on the display.

However, if you touch the map display, you put the display in browse mode. In browse mode, the map will stay fixed and the vehicle will move across the screen and off the display, so you have to pan the map to keep the vehicle in view.

you could make one of your own. Then just replace what you are using with the new one.